Welcome to Naznet's
Advent and Christmas Celebration

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Day 6, December 30

Gina Stevenson

Please, click on the midi player to hear the music.
The music is Angels We Have Heard On High.

30 December

The first thought to cross my mind when assigned this day was, "Oh, no!
Of all days . . .", not being too sure of my ability to handle this, the first
anniversary of being without my husband, Danny. But then, I decided the Lord
allowed this day out of five weeks to be assigned to none but me for His own reasons, and
accepted it as from Him realizing I'm not alone in experiencing a "first Christmas
without" a spouse or some loved one.

Upon reading some of the Scriptures for this day [from
Year 1 Readings], I noted in them that the Lord,
whose birthday we celebrated just a few days ago, not only brought to us salvation
[Isaiah
25:9], but He will also "swallow up death forever (and) the Sovereign LORD will
wipe away the tears from all faces . . ." [Isaiah 25:8].

We may not understand now why many of us did not receive our miracle in the
form of a loved one being healed while on this earth, yet "in perfect
faithfulness (He has) done marvelous things, things planned long ago" [Isaiah
25:1]. Yes, what we cannot see as His "marvelous things" or as being done
"well" [Mark 7:37], when trusting Him "who is, and who was, and who
is to come," will be accepted by Him as "sacrifice . . . burnt
offering" [Psalm 20:3].

Life's canvas colors we may not choose, and
Sometimes God paints with the darker hues.
Tho' we don't understand the reasons why,
And may never till the 'bye and bye' . . .

So, in spite of what kind of year this may have been for some of us, let us all
anticipate the New Year that is nearly upon us "trust[ing] in the name of the LORD
our God" [Psalm 20:7b], with this prayer for each other:

"May he give you the desire of your heart, and make all
your plans succeed." Psalm 20:4

You never promised that there would be no pain, but You give us grace in spite
of the pain we endure. Our loss is close, so very close, to Your heart. You understand our
hearts. You have become as vulnerable as we are through the life of Your Son. "Your
heart is touched with our grief." Thank You for Your boundless love and care. We
don't like the pain but we are thrilled each time Your presence is made known.

Music provided by Don and Carla's Christmas Midi
Files.. Background provided by The Bud.
Graphics for the Twelve Days of Christmas by Detroit News.
The Animations were designed by Nathan Harris. These are used with permission.